Zack Smith

With the Senators struggling mightily this season, it has been expected that they will be sellers in the weeks to come. One player that has been suggested as a candidate to be dealt is center Zack Smith and Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that Calgary is believed to have shown an interest in his services.

Smith is in the first year of a four-year, $13MM contract he signed last January, foregoing unrestricted free agency in the process. At the time, he was in the midst of his second straight season with at least 15 goals and 30 points and was providing Ottawa with strong secondary scoring along with his usual gritty style of play.

Things haven’t gone as well for the 29-year-old this season, however. Smith has battled injury issues, missing time with three separate problems (upper-body, thumb, and shoulder) and when he has been in the lineup, he hasn’t been as productive as he has in recent seasons. Through 27 games, he has just three goals and six assists despite logging over 16 minutes of ice time per night.

It’s understandable that Calgary would have interest in adding some help down the middle. Sam Bennett has played well since moving to the wing while there is some uncertainty regarding the future of pending UFA pivot Mikael Backlund. Matt Stajan, their fourth line center, is also set to be an unrestricted free agent as well so landing someone with several years of team control would make some sense. Smith’s physicality would also fit in well in the tougher Western Conference. It’s worth noting that he has a ten-team no-trade clause and it’s not known at this time if the Flames are on that list or not.

Considering his struggles this season, whoever acquires Smith would be taking a bit of a risk that a change of scenery helps get him back to the level he has played over the past couple seasons because if not, he will be an expensive depth player. However, it’s fair to infer that Ottawa’s asking price can’t be too high given Smith’s struggles so while there is a bit of risk, there is certainly the potential for a higher reward as well if he returns to his 2015-16/2016-17 form.

Last night was filled to the brim with hockey all across North America, with a dozen games in the NHL and a World Junior semi-final. There were some shocking finishes, with the Coyotes taking down the Predators and Canadiens icing the Lightning. Now, as we head into another weekend full of hockey, teams will be making minor changes to their rosters and we’ll keep track of everything right here.

The Buffalo Sabres have sentTaylor Fedun back to the minor leagues, meaning he must be healthy enough to get back on the ice. Fedun hasn’t played since November due to a foot injury, and has just seven games in the NHL this year. The 29-year old is ticketed for the AHL until another few spots open up on the Buffalo blueline.

Zac Dalpe and Dean Kukanare on their way back to the AHL again, another cap-saving measure for the Columbus Blue Jackets as they await their next game on Sunday. Columbus has been sending the pair down to get into some game action between Blue Jackets matches, allowing them to also bank some cap space for any potential moves at the deadline.

The St. Louis Blues have activatedSamuel Blais from injured reserve and sent him to the minor leagues. Blais had been dealing with a lower body injury and has played just 22 games this season split between the Blues and San Antonio Rampage. The sixth-round pick will have to prove he’s back to full strength before getting another chance with the big club, who still haven’t found their optimal mix of forwards for the stretch run.

After a 15-game schedule on Saturday and a three-day holiday break, you would expect little action over the next few days, but a few teams made a few roster moves before starting their vacations. Let’s see if more are coming …

The Ottawa Senators made four roster moves this morning, sending goaltender Daniel Taylor, defensemen Andreas Englund and Ben Harpur as well as forward Chris Didomenico to the Belleville Senators of the AHL. Taylor was recalled due to the unavailability of goaltender Craig Anderson. DiDomenico was brought up Friday after injuries to Zack Smith and Bobby Ryan and played in 8:47 of ice time in Saturday’s 1-0 loss to Florida. Englund was recalled after the team lost forward Gabriel Dumont and Harpur has been up and down all season covering the team’s many injuries. Harpur played in 14:22 on Saturday, while Englund and Taylor were scratches.

The Montreal Canadiens assigned defenseman Brett Lernout to the Laval Rocket of the AHL Sunday morning. Lernout got into Saturday’s game to fill in defensive injuries with Shea Weber out, and played 14:43 of ice time and getting two hits in. He was recalled on Thursday.

The Columbus Blue Jackets made three moves of their own, assigning forwards Jordan Schroeder, Tyler Motte and defenseman Cameron Gaunce to the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL. Both Schroeder and Motte were recalled on emergency loans Saturday for the team’s 2-1 shootout win over the Philadelphia Flyers. Both played in the game. Gaunce had been recalled on Dec. 17, but didn’t play in a game.

The Los Angeles Kings made a couple of moves Sunday, as they assigned defenseman Kevin Gravel and goaltender Jack Campbell to the Ontario Reign of the AHL. Neither player got into a game with the Kings. Campbell was an emergency backup last night as backup Darcy Kuemper was unavailable. Gravel was recalled after the team placed defenseman Christian Folin on injured reserve.

Though the roster freeze is in effect, there still will be some roster movement today. Anyone recalled after December 11th is eligible to be sent back down as late as today while players can still be recalled for any reason. Considering there are 15 games on the slate before the NHL shuts down for its holiday break, there will likely be a few players getting summoned before the day is through.

The Senators announced (Twitter link) that they have officially recalled goaltender Daniel Taylor from AHL Belleville. The move comes on the heels of Craig Anderson being unable to dress for tonight’s game as a result of an illness. It’s likely that Taylor will be sent back down immediately following the game before the full roster freeze takes effect.

Rasmus Andersson’s stint with Calgary lasted all of one day as he has been sent back to Stockton of the AHL, per a team release. The Flames are the lone team not in action today so his services won’t be needed until December 28th at the earliest. Andersson did not dress for yesterday’s game against Montreal which means he was up only in case someone was injured in the warmup. With 16 points in only 22 minor league games, the 21-year-old will likely get another look with the big club at some point this season.

The Coyotes announced a trio of roster moves. Defenseman Andrew Campbell has been recalled from Tucson of the AHL while blueliner Joel Hanley and winger Nick Merkley have been sent down. Campbell last saw NHL action in 2015-16 with Toronto and will likely serve as injury insurance for their game tonight against Colorado. Hanley has seen action in four NHL contests this season, averaging a little under 11 minutes per night while Merkley made his NHL debut earlier this week after being one of their top scorers at the minor league level.

CapFriendly tweets that Ottawa Senators center Zack Smith has been placed on injured reserve. The 29-year-old forward was reported yesterday to be out for at least two weeks with a shoulder injury. Smith has two goals and six assists in 24 games this season.

The Los Angeles Kings have recalledJack Campbellfrom the AHL’s Ontario Reign on an emergency basis tonight. There is no word on whether Jonathan Quickor Darcy Kuemperare unable to go later tonight against the San Jose Sharks and it could be that Cambell’s call-up is simply precautionary. The Kings also announced that Kyle Cliffordhas been placed back on injured reserve, retroactive to December 16th. Clifford has missed most of the season with an upper-body injury.

Even during the NHL roster freeze, some moves will still be made on the fringes to get teams ready for the holiday break. As always, we’ll keep you updated on all the minor transactions around the league.

The Columbus Blue Jackets have sentSonny Milano back to the minor leagues. Milano of course can be loaned to the Cleveland Monsters during the freeze because he had previously been recalled after December 11th. The 21-year old Milano has 10 points in 28 games with the Blue Jackets this season.

Colby Caveis on his way back to the minor leagues, after filling in for some sick Boston Bruins last night. The 22-year old Cave made his NHL debut, but was on emergency conditions and must be sent back to the minor leagues. The undrafted former junior teammate of Jake DeBrusk, Cave has become a welcome part of the Providence Bruins, providing a checking presence and chipping in offensively now and again.

For the Philadelphia Flyers, offense seems hard to come by. The Flyers found themselves on the losing end of another shutout Saturday night against the Minnesota Wild — that’s the fourth time this year. According to Philly.com’s Sam Carchidi, Philadelphia is on pace to suffer through 19 shutouts this year. The most the Flyers have ever had was 10 back in the 1968-69 season. Nevertheless, the team needs to find its offense if they want to avoid this trend.

One issue is that one of the team’s top scorers, Wayne Simmonds, has been banged up with nagging injuries and has been held without a goal for nine straight games. The scribe suggests the team look to their AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, to try to find someone who could invigorate their offense such as Danick Martel. This addition could give Simmonds some time off to heal.

Martel, who is a two-time 20-goal scorer with the Phantoms is having a breakout year as he’s already put up 14 goals in 15 games. The diminutive forward (5-foot-8, 166-pound forward) might be ready for the challenge of the NHL.

The Athletic’s Scott Powers tweets that Chicago Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville was asked about the play of Vinnie Hinostroza with the Rockford IceHogs this season and whether he might be called up soon. The 23-year-old wing, who played 49 games for the Blackhawks last season, didn’t make the team out of training camp, but has played well with his AHL team, putting up seven goals and eight assists in 14 games. Quenneville’s response was that Hinostroza is playing well, but calling him up is not an option since the team is healthy and “it’s not as if we’re disappointed with anyone up here.”

The Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch writes that while the team has lost Zack Smith to a dislocated thumb for three weeks, the team might be getting back forward Bobby Ryan soon. The 30-year-old Ryan who has been out for nearly a month with a broken finger could be back soon, although nothing will be decided until later this week. Ryan, who has six assists this season in eight games this year, has been skating while the club has been overseas in Sweden. He’s also been shooting the puck, which suggests he might be ready for Thursday’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Washington Capitals goaltending prospect Vitek Vanecek is making his AHL season debut for the Hersey Bears today after missing time with a lower body injury, according to Hershey Bears’ Zack Fisch. The 2014 second-round pick played 39 games for the Hershey Bears last year, putting up a 2.54 GAA and a .909 save percentage.

The Senators will be without center Zack Smith for the next three weeks as a result of a dislocated thumb, Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports (Twitter link). The injury was sustained on Friday against Colorado in the first of their two games in Sweden.

This will mark the second time this season already that he has been out of the lineup after Smith missed three games back in October due to an upper-body injury. He had played on Ottawa’s new-look top line on Friday alongside recent acquisition Matt Duchene and winger Mike Hoffman but that line will have to change for a few weeks yet. Smith has played in a dozen games with the Sens this season and while he has yet to score, he has collected six assists along with 11 penalty minutes.

As a result of the injury, Nick Paul is set to make his season debut after being recalled earlier in the week. It was recently noted that teams have been calling about his potential availability so it will certainly be interesting to see how he is deployed.

While their winger depth is weakened for the time being, they should get some good news in the near future as winger Bobby Ryan is expected to return within the next week or so and he could be a candidate to skate in Smith’s spot alongside Duchene and Hoffman when he gets the green light to return.

The Senators lost in overtime last night, making if three times already this season that the team has ended regulation in a tie only to lose the game thereafter. That record of 3-1-3 is still good for third in the Atlantic Division, but they’ll have to take on the top team in the 6-1 Maple Leafs. They’ll deploy DiDomenico into the lineup unless White is able to go tomorrow night.

At 28 with only three games under his belt you might think that DiDomenico is a minor league journeyman, but in this case you’d be mistaken. After being taken in the sixth round of the 2007 draft—by those same Maple Leafs he’ll face tomorrow—and completing his junior career, DiDomenico spent just a couple of years in the minor leagues before heading to Europe. Playing in the Italian and Swiss leagues, the undersized forward put up huge point totals before finally re-signing back in the NHL last spring.

In four games with the Belleville Senators of the AHL this season, DiDomenico leads the team with five points and has generally been among the most dangerous forwards on the ice at all times. He’ll try to bring some of that skill and speed to the NHL again should he get into the lineup tomorrow night.

Sidney Crosbytook to the ice today before practice and is continuing to be evaluated on a day-to-day basis. The Pittsburgh Penguins captain was diagnosed with a concussion, and amazingly has not been ruled out yet for game 5 on Saturday night. While it would be unbelievable to see him back in the lineup so soon, it is encouraging to see him back on the ice.

Crosby’s absence was definitely felt in game 4, as the Capitals dominated play for long stretches and kept the Penguins under 19 shots on goal despite five powerplays. The fact that the team won without him is a testament to their depth, but they would obviously welcome him back with open arms when he is deemed ready. That readiness is an interesting debate though, as even if he’s feeling perfectly fine he could still be in danger of suffering a further head injury. With a long history of concussions, the Penguins ought to be very careful not to bring him back too soon.

Bobby Ryanwill be back in the lineup for the Ottawa senators tonight, along with Tom Pyatt and Chris Wideman. Ryan exited game 3 after taking a slapshot from teammate Erik Karlsson, playing just under 12 minutes. He’s an important piece to get back, as he’s turned a terrible season into an excellent playoffs, recording eight points in nine games. Zack Smith, who also exited game 3 with an injury will be a game-time decision for the Senators.

Speaking of Karlsson, Michael Farber of Sports Illustrated penned an excellent piece talking about the hairline fractures that the Senators’ captain has been playing with. The article goes in-depth on how the Senators viewed Karlsson as a youngster, and how he has now developed beyond even their wildest dreams. “Zubov without the cigarettes” has turned into a legitimate contender for the Hart trophy every year, and at just 26 will have a chance to earn one of the biggest contracts ever given out to a defenseman when he becomes an unrestricted free agent in 2019.

Hockey Graphs takes an in-depth look at the 31 general managers in the NHL (including Vegas and those who were recently let go–Dean Lombardi and Tim Murray) using a variety of different metrics. Leading the pack is Nashville’s Dave Poile, while the Canucks’ Jim Benning rounds out the list at number thirty-one. It’s a list that relies heavily on advanced metrics and other measurements, staying in line with Hockey Graph’s dedication to taking the emotion out of hockey analysis and instead, using the quantitative side (with a smattering of qualitative analysis) to create the list. Part one of the article helps make sense of how they came up with their rankings while giving a background to the metrics used.

Newsday’s Steve Zipay reports that the Rangers aren’t looking too far ahead as they try to even up their series against Ottawa tomorrow night. After drubbing the Sens 4-1, the Rangers have an advantage as Bobby Ryan and Zack Smith are both injured, and the Sens will have to “alter” lines. Several Rangers were adamant that while falling into a 3-1 hole would be difficult to overcome, netminder Henrik Lundqvist said they must take it one game at a time. Zipay adds that though Rick Nash didn’t practice, he will absolutely be playing in Game 4.

ESPN’s Chuck Gormley writes that its the Nashville blueline is wreaking havoc through these playoffs, pacing the Preds’ strong play and making a case for the organization’s first Stanley Cup. The team’s defenseman has eight goals and fourteen assists in just eight games, and according to Gormley, it’s looking more and more like the trade for P.K. Subban will tilt heavily in Nashville’s favor as the victor of the deal. Gormley highlights each player on the blueline, and writing that should the Predators continue on the path they are, it could be an epic matchup in the next round should Edmonton continue its ascent through the playoffs.